DemDaily: Staking the States

DemDaily: Staking the States

June 20, 2017

Wisconsin State Capitol

The US Supreme Court agreed this week to hear a Wisconsin redistricting case that could have significant implications for the way congressional and legislative districts are drawn -- and therefore, ultimately, who controls Congress and the state houses.

The case is an appeal of the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin's November 21, 2016 ruling in Gill v Whitford - which found that Wisconsin Republicans violated the US Constitution in 2011 when they "gerrymandered," or skewed, the lines to disproportionately favor the GOP.

This is the first partisan gerrymandering case in more than a decade to be heard by SCOTUS which, under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, is required to hear and rule on certain voting rights cases.

The outcome of the case could be critical to the 2018 elections and - as most maps are drawn by state legislatures - redistricting in 2021.

Redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries for the purposes of electing representatives to a legislative body. State legislatures draw a majority of America's Congressional Districts and Republicans now hold 66 of the 99 state chambers.

Each state determines its own process for drawing electoral lines, with 27 drawn by state legislatures, 12 by an independent or bipartisan redistricting commission, 4 by independent bodies but with final approval by the legislature, and 7 states have only one congressional district so redistricting doesn't apply. Likewise, the five US territories and the District of Columbia, which each send a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, are also not affected by redistricting.

Each state determines its own process for drawing electoral lines, with 27 drawn by state legislatures, 12 by an independent or bipartisan redistricting commission, 4 by independent bodies but with final approval by the legislature, and 7 states have only one congressional district so redistricting doesn't apply. Likewise, the five US territories and the District of Columbia, which each send a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, are also not affected by redistricting.

*The Alaska House, New York Senate and Washington Senate are governed by coalitions which, despite their majorities, give the other party functional control of the chamber. *Nebraska only has one chamber, which is nonpartisan.

Investment now in control of state capitols, and in individual legislative districts, is critical to Democrat's success in the 2021 redistricting process.